Dive Brief:
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Honda will differentiate its next-generation hybrid system, which is set to be introduced globally in 2027, with the Honda Hybrid name, the automaker revealed in an Oct. 9 press release.
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In support of its new product roadmap favoring hybrids over EVs, Honda is planning to launch 15 next-generation Honda Hybrid models globally through March 2030, primarily in North America.
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Honda Hybrid will offer “a newly-developed electric all-wheel-drive system,” according to the automaker, and will be built on a new platform offering reduced weight and better roadholding.
Dive Insight:
The next-generation hybrid system will be offered in a wide range of vehicles, including larger models — so expect this system to eventually be rolled out in the Honda Pilot, Passport and CR-V. It will also replace the automaker’s current two-motor hybrid system in future versions of the Accord, Civic and others.
Honda Hybrid is “based on the technologies amassed through the development of e:HEV, the original Honda two-motor hybrid system,” according to Honda, but it adds “a newly-developed electric all-wheel-drive system.”
Honda’s current two-motor hybrid system operates as a series hybrid most of the time, using the gas engine primarily as a generator, although the engine is coupled to the drive wheels during light highway cruising to improve fuel economy. Based on technology Honda has already previewed, it’s likely that Honda Hybrid will add a third motor at the rear wheels for AWD models.
Honda confirmed in November 2025 that it also planned to use a unique flexible body structure for its hybrids that will allow more flex during cornering to help with wheel loading and improve traction — achieving that better roadholding.
At that time, the automaker targeted a 10% fuel economy improvement and a 30% reduction in cost versus its current hybrid system, with a downsized drive unit. With Monday’s announcement, Honda elaborated that fuel the economy gains will come “through various improvements, such as expansion of the high-efficiency operating range of the engine and improvement of the efficiency and downsizing of the drive unit.”
Although Honda points to May 2026 as the key roadmap change enabling Honda Hybrid, the automaker’s planned focus toward hybrids goes back to May 2025, when the company announced a $21 billion reduction in EV investments. It followed an announcement that the automaker was postponing an $11 billion investment to build EVs in Canada.
Ultimately, Honda confirmed in February that it had taken a $1.7B write-off on EVs through December 2025 — before an official cancellation of its previous electrification plans. The automaker expected another $7 billion of additional losses from its 0 Series EV family that had been set to be built in Ohio.
